Poll fails to ease Toomey's concern

By DANIEL RIORDAN

Air New Zealand is claiming public support for Singapore Airlines taking a greater stake. But it admits it is worried by comments from Finance Minister Michael Cullen that the Government still needs to be convinced the proposal is in the national interest.

Releasing the results of a commissioned opinion survey yesterday, chief executive Gary Toomey said 55 per cent of respondents supported Singapore increasing its stake to 49 per cent; 39 per cent were opposed.

Support increased to 68 per cent (30 per cent against) after respondents were told that certain conditions could be guaranteed - namely keeping the Air NZ brand, retaining access to international markets, maintaining international routes of significance, keeping head office in New Zealand, maintaining specified provincial routes, servicing aircraft in New Zealand, retaining a New Zealand majority on the board and staffing flights mainly with New Zealanders.

Singapore's desire to promote New Zealand and Air NZ was seen as the most important condition.

Air NZ has assured the Government that these conditions would be met if Singapore was allowed to increase its stake.

However, responding to Mr Toomey's comments, Qantas spokesman Michael Sharp said every one of the conditions specified by Air NZ was taken care of in Qantas' counter-proposal, which would not require the ownership cap to be lifted.

That proposal would involve the Australian airline replacing Singapore on the Air NZ share register at 25 per cent, 30 per cent owner Brierley Investments departing the register, and Singapore buying Ansett.

Although this has been rejected by the Air NZ board, Qantas continues to lobby the Government.

Mr Toomey was speaking after final discussions with Government officials on the Singapore proposal, and before a visit to the Council of Trade Unions, presumably to emphasise the importance of sustaining the jobs of the 9000 New Zealanders directly employed by Air NZ.

The Singapore proposal is now in the hands of ministers.

Although Mr Toomey said the airline had no indication from the Government of which way it was leaning, he admitted that Dr Cullen's recent comments were of concern.

Dr Cullen visited Singapore head office this week and afterwards reiterated that it would be "very difficult" for the Government to see its way clear to lifting Air NZ's 25 per cent foreign airline ownership cap. He said he had yet to be convinced that continued ownership of Ansett - the troubled subsidiary crying out for more funding - was crucial to the national interest.

Mr Toomey said the poll also found that there was a general awareness of Air NZ's need to raise capital - but not much knowledge of the financial issues facing the company.

The public were not asked for their opinions on Qantas taking a significant stake in Air NZ.

The UMR Research poll of 500 people was taken between July 6 and July 8.

The results of another UMR Research poll, conducted two weeks before the Air NZ poll and commissioned by the National Business Review and Compaq, were also released yesterday.

That poll found that the public would prefer the Government provide direct funding for the airline, rather than allow Singapore or Qantas to take controlling stakes of 51 per cent or more.

Thirty per cent of respondents favoured Qantas getting control, and 19 per cent favoured Singapore control. Government investment was favoured by 42 per cent.

However, neither Singapore nor Qantas is pushing for more than 50 per cent of Air NZ; Singapore wants 49 per cent and Qantas 25 per cent.

The NBR-Compaq poll of 750 people was taken between June 21 and June 24, before Singapore had effectively shut out the Qantas proposal by saying it was not interested in selling its stake in Air NZ, and before Air NZ's independent directors chose greater investment from Singapore as their preferred option.

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